The prices of fully installed Solar Power systems has really been changing over the last few weeks.
After Rebates, these are a couple of options that I have seen in March 2010, in my area in South East Queensland.
1.5 kW systems with 8 panels $4,990 at originenergy.com.au
1.53kW system with 9 panels $ 1,990 at eco-kinetics.com
3.0 kW system with 7 panels $ 984.50 at freesolar.com.au
That is the advertising, but I haven’t seen all the small print yet.
The only one that I have fully checked is the 1.53kW system with 9 panels at 170w each. This adds up to (9 x 170) 1.53kW of power that can be produced per hour.
The cheapest option above states that extra panels (165w-170w) are available. Â So my calculation shows that with 7 panels they will produce about (7 x 170) 1.19kW of power per hour. Â I assume that the 3.0 kW that they advertise is the maximum that the inverter unit can handle, if they have 18 panels attached.
A bit more checking and I got these prices
3.0 kW system with 18 panels $ 8,679 at freesolar.com.au
3.0 kW system with 18 panels $ 8,490 at eco-kinetics.com
I think I am ready to place my order now.
A chart showing possible power produced by different sized systems in different parts of Australia, from the Clean Energy Council:
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Stating that XX kW power can be produced per hour does not make sense. Power is already measured in units that are time independent. If a unit has XX kW power, it should generate XX kWh energy per hour.
In technical terms, that may be correct, although it confuses me.
I try to use layman terms so that I can understand it better. Using kw and kWh as different things is somewhat confusing.
In simple terms, 1.53kW of power used in 1 hour is relatively understandable to most people.
I don’t get it…The average household consumption of electrivity is 6570kWh’s (Ref. your other site) and you can buy a 3kW system for $8490. I assume the 3kW system can deliver a maximum of 3kW PER HOUR if the sun is out and the system is optimal? If this is the case, then you are only reducing your consumption by a very small percentage. Please explain>
Assuming the best, and 365 days at 10 hours of sunlight per day we get 3,650 hours of sunlight.
A 3 kWh system would produce 10,950 during a year. Heading towards double the actual usage during the year.
So at 60% efficiency you could in theory get free electricity.
Qld gov (assuming they don’t change their mind or get voted out) currently offer .44c per kwh for surplus electricity you can give them between the hours of 9am-3pm from your solar panels. Now make some conservative assumptions: average 4 hours per day of strong enough sunlight for, say 250 days of the year. The amount you could on average sell to them would be whatever your panels could deliver, less what you use (so don’t run your washing machine, dishwasher, aircon etc between 9 and 3pm). It works out for a 1.5kwh system about $30 to $70 per quarter (such a high variation because it depends how many sunny days, plus angle and direction your panels are pointing, plus how much you use during the day)
On average it takes about 10 years to pay off solar panels. In that time the government may well discontinue the scheme. Also better, more efficient technology may come along (parabolic dishes for example are 150% more efficient, though a little pricey at the moment, though once apon a time a DVD player cost $4,000…… still, how much interest can you make on $3k anyway….
I agree not to rely on the electricity buy back, that 44 cent per kwh for surplus electricity mentioned.
Calculations are best done ignoring that, and accept it as a bonus, while it lasts.
If you can get a 3.0 kW system for under $1,000 after grants, then it only has to save $100 per year to break even over 10 years.
With the current cost of power being 18 cents, that means saving 555kWh of power per year, or 1.5kWh per day.
If a solar system can produce that, then it appears to be worth it.
I think I am getting those figures right. But please double check for me.
Better, more efficient systems will no doubt come along, but at some stage, the bullet needs to be bitten
Without these $7,000 grants to keep the cost down, then I feel it would not be worth it, if we had to cough up $8,000+
Watts, kW, and kWh.
Watts are a rate of consuming energy over time. Time is already in there when you say Watts.
A 200W lightbulb is going to be roughly twice as bright as a 100W lightbulb.
1kW is 1000W, and is roughly one bar of an electric fire.
Your 3kW PV system is going to continually generate 3kW, when there’s enough sunshine.
After 1 hour, the 3kW PV has generated 3kWh.
After 10 hours, the 3kW PV has generated 30kWh.
If your PV system has no storage, it could supply 30 100W lightbulbs, or just three 1kW electric fire bars.
There’s nothing to stop you powering thirty 1kW electric fire bars all at once. But for that you’re going
to need storage. Probably a suitable bank of big batteries. But you’re going to have to wait for 10 hours
for the PV system to charge up the batteries. Then you can turn on all thirty 1kW fire bars, but only for 1 hour.
You have generated your 30kWh over 10 hours, then consumed your 30kWh in 1 hour.
Before purchasing anything, you should first calculate your daily power usage. In that way, you can choose the best solar panel that is needed in your household.